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Publishing in the Journal of American Water Resources Association

(JAWRA)Venki Uddameri, Ph.D., P.E.

Editor-in-Chief, JAWRA

TTU Water Resources Center

Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering

Texas Tech University

[email protected]

Should I Consider JAWRA as a Potential Journal for my manuscript?

JAWRA – Brief History

• March 23, 1964 - AWRA was established as multidisciplinary water resources organization• Brainchild of Sandor Csallany (Illinois State Water Survey)

• Water Resources Bulletin was first published in 1965• Original papers with broad approach to scientific and technical water

problems

• William R Boggess was the first editor/editor-in-chief

• A yearly prize for outstanding paper in the journal is named after him

• Water Resources Bulletin was renamed Journal of American Water Resources Association in 1998

50+ Years of History – Publishing Original Multidisciplinary Papers on a Broad Range of Water IssuesAWRA was talking about interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research before these terms were considered cool!!!

JAWRA Overview

The Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) isdedicated to publishing original papers characterized by its broadapproach to water resources issues. Water by its nature is complex.Therefore, effectively managing water resources requires a broadunderstanding of many concepts and their applications, as plans basedon a single outlook - only engineering, only biology, only economics, oronly law - tend to have unhappy outcomes.

Decisions makers addressing water resources challenges requireaccess to high quality science and research presented from a varietyof perspectives. JAWRA has been focused on this objective for morethan 50 years.

JAWRA – Aims and Scope• AWRA seeks to be the preeminent scholarly publication on multidisciplinary water

resources issues.

• JAWRA papers present ideas derived from multiple disciplines woven together to give insight into a critical water issue, or

• JAWRA paper can also primarily be from a single discipline with important applications to other disciplines.

• Papers often cover the topics of recent AWRA conferences such as riparian ecology, geographic information systems, adaptive management, and water policy.

• JAWRA authors present work within their disciplinary fields to a broader audience.

• Our Associate Editors and reviewers reflect this diversity to ensure a knowledgeable and fair review of a broad range of topics. We particularly encourage submissions of papers which impart a 'take home message' our readers can use.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1752-1688/homepage/ProductInformation.html

Integrating Ideas from Multiple Disciplines

Results from a Single Discipline presented to a Multidisciplinary

Audience

Journal Features

• Strong Editorial Board• 20+ Editorial Board Members

• Diverse expertise

• Mix of Researchers from Academia, Federal and State Research Organizations

• Additional Guest Associate Editors• Featured Collections • Featured Series

• Published through Wiley Inc.

Consider JAWRA when:

• The work is integrative in nature• Brings researchers from a variety of disciplines to address a water resources

problem

• Assessment of a coupled Human-Natural Systems

• Food-Energy-Water Nexus

• The work is discipline-specific but is of interest to a multidisciplinary audience• Groundwater modeling of an important transboundary aquifer

• Predominantly hydrogeology but results are useful to policy makers, lawyers

Papers must make a strong case and illustrate how the work is of interest to a multidisciplinary audience

JAWRA – Fundamental or Applied?

• JAWRA publishes papers on both fundamental and Applied Water Research• Theoretical insights and applications must be of interest to an

interdisciplinary audience• Theoretical Work – Creation of a new hydrologic drought monitoring index

• Why this index is better than other existing indices (filling critical voids)• Work is predominantly hydrology but of interest to water resources planners, managers,

climate scientists and biologists

• Applied Work – Comparison of several drought indices across a climate spectrum• Recommendations of which method(s) works best and why• How does data availability across regions affect the application of indices• Practical guidelines for policy makers and other researchers

JAWRA is not a Good Fit for

• Papers with a narrow discipline specific focus• Experimental similitude studies to design a sluice gate

• Narrow focus mostly of interest to hydraulic engineers

• Early-stage theoretical research far removed from applications• A bench-scale study to demonstrate a new remediation technique

• Scale up to solve field problems?

• Work focused on a single topic in a narrow geographic area• How generalizable is the result?

• Research that simply documents field investigations with standard /traditional methods• New data in their geographic area but how useful?

Selecting an appropriate journal to publish your research is a major step that must be given serious thought

Some Considerations – Not exhaustive

• Is your author team drawn from multiple disciplines?

• Is your discipline-specific work part of a larger multidisciplinary project?• Have you had to explain your work to policy makers, general public and

researchers in other fields?

• Have papers on your topic been published in JAWRA?

• Are you citing papers from JAWRA in your work?

• Has you presented your work at a AWRA conference?• What was the feedback from the audience?

Can you relate the importance of your work to the broad water resources Community?

Paper Types Published by JAWRA• Technical Paper

• Results of recent research, case-studies, fact-based analysis• Most papers fall in this category

• Technical Note• Short, narrowly focused communication on a topic of interest• Text limited to 3250 words, combined figures + tables = 5 (max)

• Water Commentaries• Invited• New insights and concepts relevant to a broad range of water

researchers and practitioners• Same requirements as a technical note

• Literature Reviews• Invited• Synthesize literature on a recent topic of interest• Highlight crucial data and knowledge gaps• How research can inform water policy and practice

• Discussion and Reply

Preparing a Manuscript for Submission to JAWRA

Read the Instructions for Authors

http://www.awra.org/jawra/JAWRA Instructions for Authors.pdf

Some Things to Pay Attention

• Titles are limited to 130 characters including spaces and should succinctly reflect the contents of the article. • Avoid the use of acronyms; • Common acronyms such as SWAT or GIS are allowed • Other exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis, usually for model names

• Abstract is limited to 1500 characters including the word abstract• 1490 actual characters

• Use a catchy but relevant title

• Highlight main results and how they pertain to water resources policy and practice in the abstract• Outside the pay-wall• Your abstract has maximum visibility

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• More than 50% of the traffic to Wiley Online Library comes from Google, Google Scholar or other search Engines

• Increasing Article Search Engine Discoverability• Keep the title short

• Use 1 – 2 keywords in your title

• Place essential findings and keyworks in the first two sentences of the abstract

• Repeat your keywords 5 – 6 times

https://authorservices.wiley.com/author-resources/Journal-Authors/Prepare/writing-for-seo.html

Research Impact Statement

• New Requirement of JAWRA

• One major highlight or insight from your work• Directly relevant to water resources policy and practice

• RIS is mandatory and should be less than 200 characters• May be used to promote your work on social media

• Research Impact Statement: Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) is useful to initiate but not remove groundwater drought restrictions as the effects set in late but tend to persist longer in aquifers. • 173 Characters (including spaces)

Tables and Figures

• Use Tables and Figures Appropriately

• Figures must add to the text not duplicate it

• Use vector graphics when possible• PDF and EPS formats

• 600 dpi or better

• Allows for Search Engines to Search your Figures

https://authorservices.wiley.com/asset/photos/electronic_artwork_guidelines.pdf

Formatting References

• Pay particular attention to formatting references

• JAWRA uses Literature Cited as the section header

• Informal references are cited within the text• Inline citations

• Proper Citation helps linking of your paper with other relevant papers in the field • Helps with Search Engine Optimization

Tip! Correcting citations is, by

far, the biggest source of

questions in copyediting. The

most common errors are: (1)

Different dates or name

spellings between the text and

the Literature Cited section;

and (2) Citations missing

volume, number, pages, etc.

Supporting Information• Supplemental Material Relevant to your article

can be submitted as Supporting Information (SI)• Made available online on Wiley’s JAWRA Website• Not formatted or copy-edited• Must be original or have necessary permissions

• Supporting Information can greatly enhance your article• Data for downloads• Videos and Animations not amenable to traditional

formats• A video or powerpoint explaining your article

https://authorservices.wiley.com/author-resources/Journal-Authors/Prepare/supporting-information.html

https://authorservices.wiley.com/author-resources/Journal-Authors/Prepare/supporting-information.html

Submitting your Manuscript for Review

All Submissions are handled through ScholarOne Online Submission System

https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jawra

20

Manuscript

✓ Manuscript text and files

✓ Names, email addresses and affiliations of all

authors

✓ Suggested referees (preferred and non-

preferred)

✓ Information about the manuscript – pages,

words, # of figures

✓ Agree to journal polices – copyright etc.…

✓ Funding information

✓ Conflict of interest

Cover Letter

• Not Mandatory but useful

• Convince the editor the importance of your work

• Address why you want this work submitted to JAWRA• How and Why is this work of importance to a multidisciplinary audience

• Mention any special requirements or conflicts of interest

• A Bad Cover Letter is not a deal killer

• A Good Cover Letter will help expedite the review process

Reviewer Suggestions

• Recommend suggesting 3 - 5 potential reviewers

• Researchers who can evaluate your work objectively

• Reviewers must not have a direct conflict of interest• Students, advisors, co-authors

• Associate Editors reserve the right to choose your reviewers• Typically 1 but no more than two of your recommended reviewers will be

selected

Post-Submission - Processing

• Step 1: Administrative Review• Managing editor (ME) reviews submission for completeness.

• Incomplete or incorrect submissions are returned to the author for corrections. • Complete submissions are forwarded to the editor-in-chief (EIC) for consideration.

• Step 2: Initial Editorial Review• EIC initial review to determine the suitability of the paper• Unsuitable Papers are returned without review• Potentially Suitable Papers are assigned an Associate Editor

• Step 3: Secondary Editorial Review• Associate Editors perform Secondary Editorial Review• Unsuitable papers are returned to EIC (return without review)• Suitable papers are assigned to peer-reviewers

• At least 2 but Usually 3 Peer-Reviewers• Single-blind Review process

Post-Submission – Peer Review• Reviewers are asked to rate the paper on 10 criteria

• Criteria are transparent

Criteria Comments Criteria Comments

Originality Adds to our existing body of knowledge

Multidisciplinarity Ideas from or applicable to multiple disciplines

Technical Quality Paper is technically sound. Literature Cited Discussion of other relevant works

Methods and Data Obtained and analyzed using appropriate techniques

Tables and Figures Effective Supplements to the text

Title, Abstract, Keywords Useful for indexing and provide accurate summary

Equations Are they clear and understandable?

Organization and Readability

Ideas presented in a clear and logical manner

Other Comments Ways to improve manuscript further

http://www.awra.org/jawra/reviewquestions.html

Post Peer-Review

• AE makes a recommendation to EIC post Peer-Review• Based on the comments of Reviewers• Quality of Reviews• Additional Review of the paper by AE

• EIC makes the final determination• Reviewer comments /

recommendations• Quality of Reviews

• AE comments / recommendations• Additional Review by EIC

Outcome Remarks

Tentative Accept Paper is almost ready for acceptance. Minor issues have to be resolved. EIC reviews the revised submission

Major Revisions Paper has some interesting ideas. Additional work is needed to improve the manuscript. Subject to Re-review and AE recommendation

Reject the Paper Paper has major flaws that that have been identified by the reviewers. Paper will not be considered further

Accept Paper meets all technical and administrative requirements and is ready to be sent to the publisher

Majority of the papers undergo two rounds of peer-review before final acceptance

Addressing Peer-Review Comments

• Address all comments raised by the reviewers• You need not agree with what the reviewers are saying• Justify your arguments with supporting information

• View Review Comments in Positive Light• Reviewers are trying to improve your manuscript

• Address review comments with professionalism and civility

• Write and Submit a separate rebuttal• Address each reviewer points individually• Required as part of revised submission

• Avoid playing conflicting reviews against each other

JAWRA –Statistics

• Acceptance Rate – 46% (2014 – 2015)

• Average Time to First Decision – 65 days

• Average Time to Final Decision – 169 days

• Current Impact Factor – 1.717

• Current 5-Year Impact Factor – over 2.0

• JAWRA also Tracks Altmetrics Scores• Journal cites in non-traditional media

These numbers are for informational purposes only and vary widely for each submitted paper and among years

Your Paper is Published Now What?

Post-Publishing

• Promote your paper• Technical Publication has changed in recent years

• Let your peers and professionals know of your publication• Tweet out your Research Impact Statement

• Provide a link of your Paper on Linkedin

• Youtube Videos and Powerpoints can be helpful to add additional content• Provide full link to your paper for people to access it

• Consider open-access when possibleMy Recent editorial in JAWRA addresses these issues - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1752-1688.12628/full

Contact Information

• Ms. Susan Scalia (Managing Editor)• [email protected]

• Venki Uddameri (Editor-in-Chief)• [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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